Ceiling mounted pilasters are used in a variety of structures, such as for restroom stalls and the like. Such pilasters are routinely mounted to brackets attached to the ceiling, or without a bracket directly to the ceiling itself (or a support or beam provided immediately above the ceiling). Where the pilaster is attached directly to the ceiling, stainless steel shoes have been provided about the top portion of each pilaster for aesthetic reasons. Such shoes are tubular, and are placed on the pilaster prior to attachment of the pilaster to the ceiling. The shoe is made slightly larger than the cross section of the pilaster so that the shoe is slidable therealong. Thus, after being slid onto the pilaster, the pilaster is attached to the ceiling with the shoe slid out of the way. Subsequently, the shoe is moved into place along the pilaster to the top portion thereof with the shoe touching or immediately adjacent the ceiling. The shoe is then mounted in this position to hide the attachment mechanism and ceiling hole or the like. Typically, the shoe is held in place by driving a screw through one face thereof provided with a hole and into the pilaster underneath.
Unfortunately, problems have arisen with the prior art tubular shoes. During installation of the stalls or the like, installers will forget to place the shoes on the pilasters prior to attachment of the pilaster to the ceiling and associated elements of the stall. When this occurs, it is often not recognized that an error in installation has occurred until after a number of pilasters are attached to the ceiling. At that time, each pilaster must then be individually disengaged from the ceiling sufficiently to allow a shoe to be slid thereon, and then the pilaster must be reattached to the ceiling. This remedial action is both time consuming and sometimes difficult where other elements are already attached to the pilaster which must be disengaged from the ceiling.